The Defense Thread, 2019

[Can_of_corn]

4 minutes ago, WillyM said:

Well, if the general consensus is that it's better to play ultra deep, so be it.

I did have another thought.

I don't know the name of the White Sox' first base coach, but I assume he's a good baseball man.  I can envision that when Abreu came up to bat after Delmonico walked, the first base coach leaned over to Delmonico and said something like this.

"See how deep the Orioles' outfielders are playing?  If Abreu gets a hit, you make sure to run as hard and as fast as you can.  It's going to take them a while to get to the ball, and you might be able to score all the way from first."

So, if the Orioles want their outfielders to continue to play deep, the Orioles' outfield coach should explain to his guys that opposing first base coaches are going to notice where they are playing, and are going to tell their players to run as hard and fast as they can.

That means the Orioles' outfielders had better get to the ball quickly and get it back to the infield with a good, strong throw, or else the other team's guys are going to continue to score from first on singles.

Ain't many strong arms out there in the Orioles' outfield.

[Frobby]

Game 35, May 6

- Davis and Means combined on a great 3-1 putout where Davis had to charge in heading towards the mound and then flip against his momentum to a running Means who caught the toss in stride and beat the runner to the bag.   One of the nicer 3-1 plays you’ll see.

- Ruiz let a ball bounce off his glove for an error in the 9th.   The announcers said it hit the front edge of the infield dirt, but the hop looked pretty true to me.   

- Richie Martin made a couple of nice plays on hard hit balls to his left — nothing spectacular, but very solid plays.   

[luismatos4prez]

Wilkerson looked alright in centerfield tonight. Nothing particularly difficult but he was moving well from what I could see.

Is it just me or are the Orioles having more communication problems in the outfield than other teams? Feels like I've seen a lot of near collisions this year, though I don't think it's hurt them at all yet.

[LA2]

1 hour ago, Frobby said:

Game 35, May 6

- Davis and Means combined on a great 3-1 putout where Davis had to charge in heading towards the mound and then flip against his momentum to a running Means who caught the toss in stride and beat the runner to the bag.   One of the nicer 3-1 plays you’ll see.

- Ruiz let a ball bounce off his glove for an error in the 8th.   The announcers said it hit the front edge of the infield dirt, but the hop looked pretty true to me.   

- Richie Martin made a couple of nice plays on hard hit balls to his left — nothing spectacular, but very solid plays.   

FTFY.

[Legend_Of_Joey]

38 minutes ago, luismatos4prez said:

Wilkerson looked alright in centerfield tonight. Nothing particularly difficult but he was moving well from what I could see.

Is it just me or are the Orioles having more communication problems in the outfield than other teams? Feels like I've seen a lot of near collisions this year, though I don't think it's hurt them at all yet.

Lot of communication problems. I blame it on there being no real consistency on who is out there plus players playing in new spots.

[Frobby]

7 hours ago, Legend_Of_Joey said:

Lot of communication problems. I blame it on there being no real consistency on who is out there plus players playing in new spots.

Wilkerson’s playing like a guy who’s not used to being in the outfield - because he’s not.   Very curcuitous routes to the ball, failing to call for the ball or be aware where the other OF’s are.    But so far, no disasters.   

[Frobby]

Game 36, May 7

The main action today was with Chris Davis.

- With runners on 2nd and 3rd and one out in the 4th, infield in, O’s down 3-2, Davis dove and gloved a hot smash in the 2B hole, then from his knees flipped the ball backhand to Alberto, who was running over to 1B.    The runners didn’t advance, and Hess escaped the inning without further damage.   Terrific, highlight reel play.  (There’s video of the play up on Orioles.com.)

- In the top of the 9th, O’s down 6-5 with the bases loaded and nobody out, Phillips induced a foul pop behind 1B and over by the netting along the rail.    Davis got over there but the ball came down about a foot behind his glove, landing for a foul ball     It was a difficult play, but one Davis could have made.    The batter walked on the next pitch to force in a run, and another run scored later on a sac fly.    Arguably, the first run wouldn’t have scored if Davis had made the catch.

 

[bobmc]

On 5/6/2019 at 11:45 PM, luismatos4prez said:

Wilkerson looked alright in centerfield tonight. Nothing particularly difficult but he was moving well from what I could see.

Is it just me or are the Orioles having more communication problems in the outfield than other teams? Feels like I've seen a lot of near collisions this year, though I don't think it's hurt them at all yet.

There was an interesting convo with Arnie Beyeler (first base and OF coach) during the game while the players were on defense.  He had a notebook he was referring to (while watching that inning develop) as he explained how they were moving players around, how many were not experienced, how they used analytics to position and why they were playing deeper.  He said the analytics folks fed the OF with cards on batters' tendencies (which we have seen them look at during game).  He seemed well armed with data and spoke well about the system which is a work in progress.  Different pitch counts and game situations might cause changes on the fly.

[El Gordo]

4 hours ago, bobmc said:

There was an interesting convo with Arnie Beyeler (first base and OF coach) during the game while the players were on defense.  He had a notebook he was referring to (while watching that inning develop) as he explained how they were moving players around, how many were not experienced, how they used analytics to position and why they were playing deeper.  He said the analytics folks fed the OF with cards on batters' tendencies (which we have seen them look at during game).  He seemed well armed with data and spoke well about the system which is a work in progress Different pitch counts and game situations might cause changes on the fly..  

This is something Old timers knew to do all the time. Paul Blair used to complain about how the O's OF no longer did this.

Edited May 8, 2019 by El Gordo

[Redskins Rick]

On 5/3/2019 at 7:32 PM, WillyM said:

 I can envision that when Abreu came up to bat after Delmonico walked, the first base coach leaned over to Delmonico and said something like this.
 

The conversation was probably more about where they were going out after the game to!!!!

[Redskins Rick]

We have to be pleased to be the best in MLB at throwing runners out, trying to steal

Quote

Devers became the 12th runner to be cut down on a stolen base attempt, and the Orioles’ 60 percent success rate is the highest in the majors.

http://www.masnsports.com/school-of-roch/2019/05/orioles-caught-controlling-the-running-game.html

 

[LA2]

Adam slumping.

[TGO]

3 hours ago, Redskins Rick said:

We have to be pleased to be the best in MLB at throwing runners out, trying to steal

 

Buck Showalter is smiling somewhere.

[LA2]

1 hour ago, TGO said:

Buck Showalter is smiling somewhere.

Sounds eerily like part of a eulogy (from one of those feature-length Korean or Japanese baseball animes)!  I wish him and his the best despite how things ended up. Is there any news or speculation on what he's up to or looking to do?

[OsFanSinceThe80s]

2 hours ago, LA2 said:

Sounds eerily like part of a eulogy (from one of those feature-length Korean or Japanese baseball animes)!  I wish him and his the best despite how things ended up. Is there any news or speculation on what he's up to or looking to do?

https://honeysanime.com/top-10-baseball-anime-best-recommendations/